What's in a Word? Tracking Shifts in Teachers' Conceptualizations of "Authentic" Teaching and Learning

• In Event: How Do Teachers Understand Authenticity, Justice, and Praxis?

Abstract

Calls to transform traditional schooling often highlight the importance of authentic instruction. Researchers argue that authenticity has multiple connotations; instruction can be authentic to real-world communities, students' experiences and interests, or the practices of disciplinary communities. In this study, we ask how teachers understand authenticity in project-based learning (PBL) instruction. After an extended professional development (PD) program on authentic teaching practices in PBL, we find that teachers hold varied conceptions of authenticity. Following PD, teachers' conceptions both upheld their existing, traditional understandings of authenticity, while expanding to take on new meanings. This raises questions about how to use language both flexibly and precisely to support teachers to develop complex and contextualized understandings of more transformative teaching practices.

Authors

• Tess Bernhard, University of Pennsylvania
  Presenting Author

• Amy Guillotte, University of Pennsylvania
  Presenting Author

• Sarah Schneider Kavanagh, University of Pennsylvania
  Presenting Author

• Christopher G. Pupik Dean, University of Pennsylvania
  Presenting Author